Memory
by pilvenpiirtaja
Summary: "It was Ace who told me" in a slight AU where the telling happens in person and not via a newspaper article. Spoilers of manga chap 794, set somewhere before the marineford arc. Rated T for minor language and some violence. One-shot.


**I know this isn't probably too good but I just had to write it, and I hope like it ^^ I wanted to work with the idea of Ace telling Sabo who he is without it happening via a newspaper article... So, here we go**

 **Memory**

Sabo and Koala stopped for dinner in a bar near the port of the city. They had been tracking leads on their case the whole day, and decided it was time for a break. They made their order ad sat down by the counter. They didn't pay much mind on the people in the bar, making only a quick sweep on the other customers. No red flags rose in their heads so they relaxed a bit. The only odder customer was a man who was currently sleeping in his dinner, but after receiving their food, the two didn't give the sleeping man another thought.

* * *

"You bastard!" Sabo turned to the direction of the voice. He'd been called a bastard before quite a few times, but usually it involved him provoking the other in some way. He only got a glimpse of an orange hat before a fist landed on his face, the force of the punch flying him through the side wall of the bar.

With a few curses and grunts he got up from the floor. He straightened his hat and faced his opponent. "What was that for?" he questioned as he approached the man who had attacked him. "Can't a man get a little peace and quiet when he eats, it's not like we bothered you while you were sleeping!"

Sabo and Koala had been discreet about their presence, keeping a low profile to avoid any unwanted attention, but it seemed there was no way to back out from the fight. Flames flickered alive around the other man as anger filled his eyes, and only then Sabo realized he was dealing with the second division commander of the Whitebeard pirates, making it impossible to just hand the guy's ass to him. Sabo decided he had to go for a diplomatic solution, there was no way a fight between them would remain discreet enough for him and Koala to continue their mission.

"Look, I do not know exactly what I have done to insult you, but I would like to apologize. It was not in my intention to cause any inconvenience. If it's fine by you we'll take our leave before we cause any more trouble", Sabo tried. Their mission came first, and any unnecessary unrest in the city could potentially endanger the mission. He realized that another fist was flying to his direction and dodged.

"It wasn't your intention to cause trouble?! You were dead!" the fire fist shouted as he kicked Sabo, the leg connecting with a metal pipe.

"What are you talking about?" Sabo was confused. He clearly wasn't dead, and even if he did die, why would it matter to the famous fire fist?

"Dogra saw your ship go up in flames! We thought you died, we grieved for you! Luffy cried for days!" none of the things the pirate was screaming made any sense.

"I have no idea who you're talking about you must have mistaken me for someone else" he tried explaining as he shielded himself from continuous blows, jabbing a few himself whenever there was an opening.

"Even your goggles are the same, we found them at the Gray Terminal together! Are you claiming you don't recognize your own brother?!"

At the word Sabo froze. "My... brother?" he whispered as a punch landed on him again, sending him flying through the same hole he had made moments before. This time he remained on the ground, not even trying to get up. His head was swimming with odd images, images of strange but yet familiar places and faces. All the things the pirate had said slowly started making sense. Vivid memories flashed through his mind, both horrible and happy moments. Disapproving faces of his parents and the smug face of Stelly, moments of desperation and self-hatred behind his locked door in his old prison that was supposed to be his home. The dark memories were overtaken by wide smiles of two raven-haired boys. Moments of celebration over stolen treasure, countless of dine-and-dashes, hours of fighting practices and the sharing of sake cups filled his mind. The happier times were soon wiped by the smell of burning flesh, the realization that the nobles all knew what was burning struck his mind and the recognition that his brothers might burn with the Grey terminal. He remembered writing his good-bye letter before setting sail, finally being free, just to have his ship blown up by the Tenryuubito. He could feel the flames licking his face and he screamed.

Koala ran to her friend. "Sabo, what's wrong?" She was frantic, having never seen him in this state. He had covered his face with his hands, hiding his tears in them.

"Is it your memory, is it coming back?" She could sense the confusion radiating from the fire fist who had now calmed just slightly.

"What's wrong with him?" he asked with a small voice, causing Koala to look at him. She could see the anger had melted away and was replaced by worry, even slight panic.

"I don't know", she decided to answer honestly, the pirate seemed to know Sabo, it was clear he at least cared for him deeply. "He suffered from amnesia after an incident back when he was a kid, I don't know the exact details, but afterwards the only thing he remembered was the dislike of his parents, he didn't even remember his own name"

The pirate paled and fell on his knees next to Sabo. "So that's why you didn't tell us you were alive" he murmured. "You couldn't remember us"

The blond abruptly sat up, his hands still on his face, slightly rocking back and forth. "How could I forget, how could I forget" he kept repeating, the tears spilling from under his fingers. "Ace, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry"

The pirate hesitated for a moment before he reached his hand to the blond. He wrapped his arms around him, giving him a crushing hug.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, it wasn't your fault" he soothed the blond, burying his head to his shoulder before they both fell silent. Neither of them moved, they just held each other as if they were afraid the other would disappear if they let go.

After long a while, the pirate slowly raised his head and a wide grin spread on his face. "Luffy's going to freak out when he finds out", he said, gaining a slowly growing smile from his long-lost brother.


End file.
